The next morning, on his way to Binhai University for class, Lin Jie received a call from Officer Qin.

Officer Qin told him that after a thorough examination last night, they indeed found a blockage in one of the main blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.

He expressed his gratitude, saying, "The attending physician has already scheduled an interventional surgery for me at nine this morning to clear the blockage. The doctor also mentioned that if it had been discovered any later, I would be at risk of a heart attack."

"Lin Jie, thank you!"

Finally, Officer Qin added, "The test results for Aunt Wang have also come out. It's late-stage uterine cancer, and it has already spread. The doctors recommend conservative treatment and advise against surgery."

Hearing this unsurprising result, Lin Jie could only sigh in response.

The lecture today was once again packed in the tiered classroom.

After finishing the lecture, Lin Jie asked Gao Yanhong, Huo Guangheng, Guo Peng, and He Yimin to stay behind and gave reading lists to Guo Peng and He Yimin.

Especially for He Yimin, the reading list spanned two A4 pages, with nearly a hundred books.

Behind each book, Lin Jie had annotations, categorized into levels such as thorough reading, understanding, and skimming.

Lin Jie also assessed the knowledge levels of Gao Yanhong and Huo Guangheng, and orally provided them with a reading list on the spot.

By the time he finished these tasks, it was already close to two in the afternoon.

Feeling very hungry, Lin Jie was about to go for lunch, but before he could leave the tiered classroom, he received a call from Chen Shi.

As soon as he answered, he heard him say, "Lin Jie, there's a small situation regarding the surgery contest between you and Dr. Xia."

The voice seemed to suppress laughter, and Lin Jie, a bit confused, asked, "Professor Chen, what's happened that makes you so amused?"

"I'm not happy at all, you must be hearing wrong!"

Chen Shi's voice on the phone turned serious, "I'm just feeling sorry for these patients who don't know what kind of opportunity they're missing out on."

"What exactly happened? Stop keeping me in suspense," Lin Jie said somewhat impatiently.

Chen Shi quickly replied, "Here's the thing. The hospital has three patients needing thoracoabdominal aortic replacement surgery, and they all unanimously refused to choose you as the lead surgeon. Instead, they're all vying to have Dr. Xia as the lead surgeon."

So it was this kind of situation!

Feeling somewhat displeased, Lin Jie soon understood the choice of these patients.

The thoracoabdominal aortic replacement surgery is highly risky and complex.

For those patients, even though Lin Jie had some fame and held the title of a special consultant, which seemed impressive, he had yet to prove himself, and he was also so young.

This surgery concerns life and death; no one would risk their life choosing a lead surgeon who doesn't seem reliable.

Chen Shi's voice sounded again on the phone, "Lin Jie, although the hospital can designate a lead surgeon, patients also have the right to refuse. In these matters, the hospital can't enforce anything."

He continued, "Hmm, Dr. Xia's surgery is scheduled for nine tomorrow morning. Remember to be there on time!"

Lin Jie, somewhat disheartened, said, "Got it! Try to think of a way to find a willing patient!"

This news somewhat affected Lin Jie's appetite. Initially planning to just grab something to fill his stomach, he specifically asked Qin Gang to drive to a well-known restaurant.

Fortunately, at this hour, there were available tables at the restaurant, no need for a reservation, and Qin Gang, who had already eaten, had no choice but to join Lin Jie for another meticulously prepared meal.

Seeing Lin Jie enjoying his meal, Qin Gang asked puzzledly, "When others are in a bad mood, they lose their appetite. Why are you the exact opposite?"

Lin Jie put down his chopsticks, took a sip of warm water, and said, "If you needed to control your diet since you were five or six, never enjoying a full meal of delicious things like chicken, meat, and fish, you would understand my choice."

"For me, food is the best healing remedy."

Qin Gang seemed to understand and said no more, focusing on enjoying the meal with Lin Jie.

Just then, Lin Jie's phone rang again, it was Chen Qiuhua calling.

As soon as he answered, her eager voice came through, "Lin Jie, you said you would reply to me today. The waiting is excruciating! I absolutely won't let you down as your assistant."

"When is the surgery scheduled? I need to organize my work accordingly."

Lin Jie rolled his eyes and said, "Now there's a new situation, the surgery time is currently undecided!"

Before Chen Qiuhua could ask, he explained the patients' refusal situation.

Chen Qiuhua cursed over the phone and consoled him, "Lin Jie, don't be upset, those patients will definitely regret it. What's next?"

Lin Jie said helplessly, "What else can be done? We can't force it!"

"Patients needing this surgery are really rare and hard to come by. Just wait, maybe the hospital will admit a bold patient tomorrow."

"By the way, just letting you know, your idol's surgery is at nine tomorrow morning. If you have time, you can go to the Affiliated Hospital to observe and learn a bit."

"I will definitely go to observe…"

Chen Qiushi, noticing his overly excited tone, paused for a moment, then said in a somber voice, "With comparison, you can see the gap."

"Only after carefully watching Dr. Xia's surgery can I truly understand the differences between you and him."

Lin Jie jokingly scolded, "You rascal, I just found out today that your personality is quite amusing and silly."

Chen Qiuhua chuckled and said, "I used to always pretend to be deep, serious, living with a mask on. Only in front of my own people do I open my heart and show my true self."

Hearing this, he restrained his smile and said, "Lin Jie, there's something I need to tell you, and I'm sure you'll be very concerned about it."

"What is it?" Lin Jie immediately asked.

"Luo Pengyi has gone back to his father."

Lin Jie was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Did he and sister Xiaoxiao break up?"

"Yes, they broke up! As far as I know, they broke up."

Chen Qiuhua sighed and said, "From what I've gathered, your sister Xiaoxiao mortgaged her house and shop, scraped together some money, and went into business with Luo Pengyi."

"The result, of course, was a loss—a complete loss without any return."

"I suspect this was a trap set for them by Luo Wantong."

Damn, Lin Jie cursed in his heart.

Back then, he had strongly advised Zhang Xiaoxiao not to act recklessly, to live her life honestly, and to resist the pressure from Luo Wantong with time and patience.

Perhaps the love proven by this time could even move Luo Wantong, who knows.

But now, it seemed like Luo Pengyi was unwilling to live a peaceful life and wanted to break free and prove himself.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Jie lost his appetite and, after paying the bill, rushed straight to Zhenhua Mall.

Over the past period, his contact with Zhang Xiaoxiao had been limited to phone calls and text messages, and he hadn't noticed anything unusual about Zhang Xiaoxiao.

Maybe Zhang Xiaoxiao felt embarrassed to mention this to him because she didn't follow his advice.

Arriving at Zhenhua Mall, Lin Jie went straight to the store location but did not see Zhang Xiaoxiao. After asking a vaguely familiar sales clerk, he found out that Zhang Xiaoxiao had already transferred the store to someone else.

Lin Jie frowned deeply and took a car to Garden Village One!

He had Qin Gang wait downstairs while he went up alone to Zhang Xiaoxiao's home.

Seeing the all-too-familiar security door, Lin Jie raised his fist and started pounding on the door incessantly.

"Who is it..."

An impatient voice came from inside the room.

This voice immediately allowed Lin Jie to breathe a sigh of relief and he shouted, "Sister Xiaoxiao, it's me! I've come to see you, hurry and open the door!"

"Oh... wait a moment! Just wait a moment, I was taking a bath..."

After the somewhat flustered voice ended, clinking and clattering sounds intermittently came through the security door.

Lin Jie waited for about ten minutes before the security door opened, revealing Zhang Xiaoxiao's somewhat pale face.

Upon entering the living room, Lin Jie frowned.

Although the small living room seemed quite clean, the smell was not pleasant, a mix of alcohol, tobacco, and spoiled food filled his nose.

Lin Jie sniffed and looked at Zhang Xiaoxiao, bluntly saying, "I already know about it! Just from the smell in the living room, I imagine your bedroom is about the same as a dog's den."

"Pack some fresh clothes and come stay at my place!"

Zhang Xiaoxiao timidly asked, "Do you really know everything?"

Lin Jie nodded, saying, "Chen Qiuhua told me everything."

"Oh, wait a moment!"

Zhang Xiaoxiao lowered her head and turned into the bedroom, coming out two minutes later dragging a suitcase!

Lin Jie took the suitcase and said softly, "Sister Xiaoxiao, how much do you owe? I have money now, really, I do. No matter how much debt you have, you don't have to worry, I can pay it off."

Zhang Xiaoxiao gently shook her head and said, "I don't owe anything. On the contrary, I have more money now than ever."

"That day, he gave me a check for twenty million and then walked away without saying anything."

Lin Jie let out a light 'oh,' thinking that Luo Pengyi still had some conscience.

Once Zhang Xiaoxiao had locked the door, the two slowly descended the stairs together...

"I've always remembered your warning!"

"But I couldn't bear to see him suppress his unhappiness, pretending to be interested in dealing with daily shop accounts of thousands or ten thousands."

Zhang Xiaoxiao slowly said, "He wasn't meant to live such a dull life! So, I took a gamble."

"I had anticipated the possibility of failing in the investment, even losing everything..."

"I thought that if, at the time we had nothing, he still chose to stay, I would marry him and have children. I also thought I'd shamelessly go to you. I knew you wouldn't ignore me."

"But I lost the gamble!"

"Ah Jie, I lost the gamble..."

Lin Jie turned to see Zhang Xiaoxiao already in tears!

He reached out to wipe Zhang Xiaoxiao's tears, and said heartbrokenly, "Sister Xiaoxiao, you didn't lose the gamble! You just lost someone who didn't love you much, while he lost the person who loved him the most in this lifetime."

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